Warning: Some content in this story is graphic, and may disturb some readers.

On the second day of the trial for Allyson McConnell, charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of her two sons, the former husband of the accused took the stand, followed by his mother.

Curtis McConnell testified through tears Tuesday morning, describing a ‘horrific' scene.

He discovered his two young children, 2-year-old Connor and 10-month-old Jayden, drowned in the bathtub of the family home in Millet – shortly after police contacted him following an apparent suicide attempt by his estranged wife.

In his testimony, he described receiving a call from police in February 2010, who said Allyson had been taken to the U of A hospital after apparently jumping off of an Edmonton overpass.

He said he asked the person on the phone where the kids were, and what had happened, he then headed to the family home in Millet to investigate.

He said the TV was on and loud, he said he yelled and nobody answered – he then went to one of the children's rooms, and found it was empty.

Moments later, he said he noticed the bathroom door was locked, and he had to use a knife to unlock it – inside the bathroom he found the bodies of his children.

"I just dropped to my knees," Curtis McConnell said through tears. "I reached into the water, and the water was so cold.

"I could feel something there; I had to pull them out."

In his testimony, he said he set the bodies down on the carpet, saying he didn't ‘want to see their dead faces'.

The Crown said Monday, before the tragedy, the couple had become embroiled in a bitter divorce, and Allyson McConnell had been attempting to take Connor and Jayden back to her home country of Australia – and had become angry her husband had been trying to block her from doing so.

During his testimony, the father told court his former wife ‘possessed a lot of hate and anger', and said she deliberately left her wedding ring on the toilet, and left the children for him to find in the bathroom of the family home.

Court heard Tuesday Curtis McConnell has since filed a $940,000 civil suit against his former wife.

It's believed that shortly after she was served with the civil suit, she attempted suicide while she was a patient at Alberta Hospital.

Under cross-examination later Tuesday morning, Curtis McConnell told the Wetaskiwin courtroom his wife had told him: "I don't want to be married to you. You depress me."

Later Tuesday, Curtis McConnell's mother Audrey took the stand, and described her former daughter-in-law as a good mother, who became angry and upset as her marriage began to erode.

On the first day of the trial, a forensic analyst described recent searches found on the hard drive of the computer owned by Allyson McConnell – including numerous searches for questions such as ‘how long does it take to drown' and ‘how long does it take to die from strangulation'.

In an agreed statement of fact presented Monday, the accused admitted to drowning her two sons in the family's bathtub, but has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder.

Two police witnesses also took the stand Tuesday morning.

With files from Serena Mah